March 10, 2008

UK retail giant Tesco to increase stocks of free-range chicken
 

Recent figures in surveys and newspapers indicate that at least 30 percent of consumers are now buying free-range chickens instead of standard chickens, leading to UK retail giant Tesco to double its order for higher-welfare chickens.

Tesco has doubled its premium chicken orders, which will become about 30 percent of Tesco's total chicken sales.

Tesco has been striving to increase the amount of higher-welfare chickens they sell for sometime, said Jonathan Church, media director of Tesco.

However, Jeremy Blackburn of the British Poultry Council has expressed his concern about the planning procedure, which could slow down growth.

Planning holds up processors who are expanding their free-range chicken operations, said Blackburn, local communities object as soon as a producer submits a planning request, which will then put the application into a long process.